LAKE MUNGO
RELEASED OUT NOW! 2008 | 15 | Blu-ray
Director Joel Anderson
Cast Rosie Traynor, David Pledger,
Martin Sharpe, Talia Zucker
This slow-burn, faintly Lynchian Aussie chiller’s cult following laud it as one of the scariest films ever made. An overly bold claim, but it tickles your neck hairs alright.
The ingenuity of its construction impresses. It tells the story of a small-town family whose daughter drowned in the local lake; her spirit then appears to haunt their home, captured in grainy video whose indistinctness makes it all the more chilling. It not only uses a documentary’s visual grammar but was shot like one, with no scripted dialogue and the actors improvising their responses to interview questions. An array of recording media was used, from beautiful 35mm footage of landscapes to pixellated mobile phone video. A faux doc has never felt less faux.
Its one weakness? A surfeit of reverses. By the end, it’s played its central trick – revealing that there’s more to an image than first appeared – too many times.
Extras An interview with the DOP (46 minutes) and a commentary pairing him with a producer provide interesting insights. Interviews with the producer (12 minutes) and two minor cast (29 minutes) are less gripping. The deleted scenes (13 minutes) include a plague of rats! Directors Rob Savage (Host) and Benson & Moorhead gush in separate appreciations (43 minutes). Plus: two earnest visual essays (29 minutes); a critical commentary; booklet; three art cards. Ian Berriman